# Smog blankets New Delhi as Diwali firecrackers worsen air quality

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/smog-blankets-new-delhi-as-diwali-firecrackers-worsen-air-quality/
- Published: 2026-11-09T05:20:08+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-09T06:24:55+00:00
- Original publisher: Al Jazeera (publisher lean: Left)
- Original article: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/11/9/smog-blankets-new-delhi-as-diwali-firecrackers-worsen-air-quality?traffic_source=rss
- Topics: Asia, World

## Key points

- Diwali fireworks added to New Delhi’s severe smog.
- Air quality exceeded 350 in several parts of the capital.
- Winter conditions trap pollution from vehicles and farm burning.

## Summary

Diwali firecrackers worsened New Delhi’s seasonal pollution, leaving the Indian capital under heavy smog on Monday. Air quality reached “severe” levels in several areas, raising health concerns for the city’s residents.

The Air Quality Index exceeded 350, while monitors had recorded pollution more than 30 times the World Health Organization’s recommended daily limit in the days before Diwali. India’s Supreme Court had restricted fireworks to approved, lower-emission “green firecrackers” during specified three-hour windows, but these still produce pollution. New Delhi has about 30 million residents, and winter conditions trap emissions; vehicles contribute 23 percent of winter pollution and biomass burning, including farm fires, 20 percent.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.